Solving Problems
by filmgrl13
Summary: AU - Dennis lives. Takes place after that fateful night. Dennis Rafkin meets up with the Kriticos family for the first time in months by accident. But what will happen?
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Right, this is just a story I'd been planning on writing forever. I don't have too much planned out, but I figured I should go ahead and write it out and post it whenever I can. Obviously it is a Dennis lives story since I hate that he died. This prologue is just giving some background information. The first chapter will take place on Allie and Arthur's first day back to school. Just to warn you, the second chapter (whenever I post it) will take place a month later. "Solving Problems" is a working title as I could not think of anything better. Also, in case anyone is curious, I don't know when I'll post future chapters as this story is not top priority, but I will try to get the first chapter up soon.

**Solving Problems**

**Prologue**

During that horrible night at the glass house, Dennis Rafkin was ready to sacrifice himself to save Arthur Kriticos. However, when Arthur saw that Dennis would be killed, he pushed the glass aside just far enough to pull the man behind with him.

The two sat huddled on the floor behind the glass and waited for the Juggernaut to leave. Once the fearsome ghost left, the two men saw Jean's ghost. Just when Arthur reached for her, all the ghosts disappeared from the basement.

After Arthur (and Maggie) saved everyone, he piled them all into his car and took them to the closest hospital. Arthur and his family, along with Maggie, were released after getting cleaned up.

However, after the beating he took, Dennis was admitted to the hospital where he would stay for three days before finally getting a chance to sign himself out. That first night, before the Kriticos family left, Arthur stopped in Dennis' room to thank him for all his help.

That was the last time the two saw each other. In the months that followed, the Kriticos family did well. Maggie did leave them, but it did not really matter.

Arthur had managed to collect insurance on the house and all items inside it, which came to a nice sum. Using that money, he was able to buy a beautiful house for his family to reside in.

His daughter, Kathy, was accepted to the local university and decided to live at home, having a new appreciation for her family. Little Bobby still reads the obituary from time to time, but lost most interest in the activity after that night.

Meanwhile, Dennis had gone back to his "home," which was really a room at a motel that people live in that he shared with his younger sister Allison, or Allie. He felt so guilty about almost sacrificing his life knowing that she needed him.

He had become Allie's guardian after their parents died three years ago. Allie is now fifteen years old. She is not too tall, not too short at 5'6" with long, wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. Her features are similar to Dennis' but her face is rounder.

If Dennis was asked to describe his little sister, he would say that she is quiet, tense, rarely smiles, and she hates school. He would also tell you that she loves listening to classic rock bands and reading murder mysteries, and is not psychic in the slightest, to his relief.

Dennis refused to tell Allie what happened that night and told her that all that matters is that he's safe and out of another job. During the following months, he has gone from one mediocre job to the next, his "condition" getting in the way every time.

The two families continued living their lives, forgetting each other in their quests to put that night out of their minds. They never saw or spoke to each other.

Until now.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N – **I know this is a bit short and not my best, but I really wanted to get this chapter up so I could move on. This chapter pretty much introduces Arthur and Allie to each other. Also, let me remind you all once again that chapter two will be taking place about a month later. Anyway, enjoy.

**Chapter 1**

It all started on the first day of the new school year.

So far, Arthur Kriticos had survived meeting three sets of students that he'd been assigned to teach this semester. He knew a few from previous classes or older siblings and met many more for the first time.

He sat behind his desk, watching his fourth period class walk in and pick seats. As much as Arthur loved teaching, the first day back was always tiring and the man was already looking forward to lunch.

Finally, the bell signaling the start of class rang and the few stragglers took their seats. Standing up, Arthur walked over to the door and shut it before introducing himself to the class.

"Hello and welcome to Algebra One. I'm your teacher, Mr. Kriticos," he said smiling, "If that doesn't sound right, check your schedules to see if you're in the right place. If you're all sure, then I guess I'll start calling roll."

He reached onto his desk and picked up his grade book. "Please correct me if I mispronounce your name or if you prefer a nickname. Abigail Adams," he began.

Slowly, Arthur made his way down the list, calling out names and waiting for a response. He was soon approaching the end of the roster as he called out, "Allison Rafkin?"

"Here." The man looked up at the girl who gave the quiet response. "And I go by Allie."

"Okay, Allie," he said, making a note of it in the book. He drew his eyebrows together; the name Rafkin sounded very familiar, but he couldn't for the life of him place it.

Once he finished taking roll, Arthur Kriticos passed out some sheets with information for the semester and let the students talk amongst themselves after making sure they understood that he would begin with lessons the next day.

He sat down at his desk and let his eyes rake over the class. His gaze soon came to rest on the Rafkin child. He _knew_ that name from somewhere, and it was killing him that he couldn't remember.

The man let his mind drift to the past, thinking of everything and everyone he knew. It didn't take too long for his brain to conjure up a picture of Dennis Rafkin, the man who almost died for him.

With renewed interest, Arthur studied the girl. Nodding to himself, he could definitely see a strong resemblance between the two. But how are they related? Unless Dennis was much older than he looked, Arthur was quite sure he could rule out the daughter possibility. _A sibling, perhaps?_ Though, the age difference would be over ten years. _Maybe cousins?_

He couldn't believe that he was looking at a person that is somehow related to Dennis. Truthfully, and he was quite ashamed of this, Arthur had completely forgotten about the man. The last time he ever saw or spoke to him was when they were at the hospital. He never even thought to ask how Dennis was after practically sacrificing his life.

Arthur's eyes widened slightly. _What if this girl is Rafkin's little sister or something?_ That would mean that he almost got himself killed knowing he himself had a family to return to.

Suddenly, Arthur Kriticos was pulled from his whirlwind of thoughts by the bell. He abruptly stood up and nodded to the students, reminding them once more to bring their books for tomorrow.

* * *

Allie Rafkin stood down the hall from her fourth period classroom. Checking her schedule one last time, she sighed. _Algebra One_. So far she had to endure English, where the teacher made everyone write a paragraph about themselves so she could get to know them.

Allie hated writing. She hated school. But writing was definitely up there. It went: math, science, writing, history, gym. Plus, it never helped to be dyslexic. Not that the girl was willing to share that little tidbit with anyone, especially evil, over-the-top teachers.

Anyway, after English came Biology. At least there the teacher let everyone do what they pleased after handing out the necessary papers. Third period: French One. She really couldn't care less about learning a second language, but apparently it's a requirement. Spanish had been full already, and German seemed too hard, so French it was. The teacher spent the entire period speaking solely in the foreign language. Allie had to admit, it sounded beautiful, but she doubted that it would sound so coming from her mouth.

The bell rang, stirring the girl from her thoughts and she reluctantly made her way to the classroom. She was the last one in and had to sit in the first desk of the fourth row. Joy.

Once Allie was situated in her seat, she looked up at the teacher, who was busy introducing himself. The man was on the shorter side and looked very friendly and, unfortunately, passionate about the subject of math. Math, to her, was torture.

The teacher, Mr. uh, Kriticos, started taking roll. After a minute, she heard him call out "Allison Rafkin?" With an internal sigh, she said quietly, "Here. And I go by Allie."

She watched as he looked up at her, his eyes sparking with…recognition? _No, that's stupid_. He can't possibly know her. The man finally finished with that and started passing out a bunch of papers.

One was a syllabus; one a schedule; one had the teacher's office hours and contact information; the final sheet was to be filled out with the student's information. She listened as the teacher told them to bring the final sheet back, filled out, and their books tomorrow as they would be starting with the first lesson then.

As soon as he told them to enjoy themselves for the rest of class, Allie discreetly pulled out her I-pod and put the earbuds in. Turning it on, she could feel herself relax a tiny bit at the start of a Rolling Stones song.

Feeling bored, the girl spent the rest of class looking around the room. She watched as each group of friends gathered in various spots and conversed about their summers and teachers and as a few people paired off and sat close, whispering to each other.

A few times, Allie thought she saw her teacher, Mr. Kriscross – no, Kriticos (she was not good with names), staring at her. But each time, she shook the notion away. Why would he show any interest in her? Instead, she turned her thoughts to her brother, Dennis, wondering what he was up to at work.

After what felt like forever, the bell rang. As soon as the teacher reminded them about tomorrow, everyone piled out of the room. Taking a glance at her schedule, Allie saw that she had gym after lunch. _Great_.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N - **I know it's really short, but it's an update, right? I'll get chapter 3 up soon (which will be longer). I've just been busy writing a research paper; also, I'm finally over my writer's block with another story of mine, Accent, so I've been focusing on that.

**Chapter 2**

_One month later…_

Allie Rafkin was sitting at her desk, watching the clock. Five more minutes until the bell would ring, effectively ending the torture known as math class.

She watched, discreetly listening to music on her I-Pod, as the teacher passed back their first test. The man slowly approached her and placed the test face-down on her desk before moving on. Eyes on the paper, Allie flipped it over and read a disappointing **45** written at the top. Grimacing, she noticed the dreaded sentence **see me after class**. The girl stuffed the paper into her bag and slumped in her seat, wondering how to get out of this.

All too soon the five minutes were up and the bell rang. The young Rafkin stayed in her seat, watching her peers file out and wishing she was with them. Once the classroom was empty, the teacher beckoned her to his desk.

Reluctantly, she stood and walked up to the front of the room. The first thing her teacher did was express his concern. "So far I've given two small quizzes and this test, all of which you've failed."

Allie flinched when he asked the classic "Is something wrong? Here at school or at home?" before moving on to "If there is, please tell me. I don't want to see you fail."

Staring at her feet, the girl mumbled, "No, sir. Nothing's wrong."

"Can you please tell me why you seem to be struggling, then?" he asked her. When she shook her head in the negative, Arthur Kriticos sighed.

"Right, well, all I can do is give you some suggestions. Perhaps you could spend a little more time reading the book and doing problems? If that isn't enough, you could always go to tutoring after school on Tuesdays."

Still refusing to look at him, Allie lied, "No, sir. I, I mean, I-I can't do tutoring on Tuesdays." The truth was that she just didn't want to. Plus, it meant someone could find out about her dyslexia and she was very private and very proud.

Arthur nodded slightly. "Well, if Tuesdays don't work, is there any other time you're free? I'd be happy to set up a private tutoring session if that's what you'd prefer."

Noticing that the bell was about to ring, Allie hurriedly said that she'd work from the book a bit more before asking to leave. She watched as her teacher sighed and nodded his approval and left quickly.

Walking down the hall, the girl couldn't help but think that the day couldn't get any worse.

She was wrong.

* * *

Arthur Kriticos was hurrying out to his car. School had let out an hour ago, and he was just now getting to leave. He couldn't wait to get home and see his kids.

The man was just unlocking his car door when he noticed a lone figure in front of the school. Upon closer examination, he came to realize that the figure was in fact Allie Rafkin.

Looking around, Arthur concluded that someone was supposed to pick her up, and was very late. Recognizing his chance, and because he's a good person, the math teacher jogged over to the girl. She must have heard him approaching, as she lifted her head.

Allie groaned inwardly when she saw who was standing before her. She took back her earlier statement, _now_ the day couldn't get any worse. But, of course, the world loved messing with her.

"Miss Rafkin, what are you still doing here?" he asked, a bit concerned.

The girl stared at nothing in particular as she calmly replied, "My brother was supposed to pick me up. I guess he forgot. It happens."

Arthur realized that his original thought had been correct: Dennis must be her older brother. Seizing the opportunity, he offered his student a ride home.

Allie considered it. She could either A) accept her overly-enthusiastic about math teacher's offer and take the completely awkward ride or B) turn him down and walk all the way back to where she and Dennis reside in the chilly weather.  
With a sigh, she said "Okay" and followed the man to his car.


End file.
